Rise of The Empire- Act II: The Republic's Last Stand
by ChrisDonati
Summary: The Imperial Army is winning. Having raged on for 3 years, the great war between the Galactic Republic and the Imperial Army is reaching a climactic boiling point, and it isn't looking good. Desperate for a way to strike back, Captain Miller is sent to find and destroy an experimental cyborg facility on Yavin II, but whilst there he may just find a way to win back the war...
1. Sidewinder

**SIDEWINDER**

" _Without sacrifice, there is no victory."_

 _Exactly 3 years after the declaration of war on The Imperial Empire- Orbit of Yavin II, the second moon of the planet Yavin._

Yavin II was the forgotten moon. The smallest of Yavin's four moons, nobody gave it much attention, not compared to its more famous cousin, Yavin IV. Although it was the smallest of the four moons, it was certainly one of the brightest, the atmosphere a luminous green hue, mainly due to the abundance of toxic Nitroxy gas emanating from its many volcanic regions. It was virtually uninhabitable for humans, a wasteland lost to the obscurity of deep space. That made it the perfect place to house an Imperial base.

Not anymore.

As Captain Miller put on his H-Suit, a suit specifically designed for uninhabitable environments, he couldn't help but think that this could be the mission that turns the war back in favour of the Republic. He looked around the landing craft to the other three soldiers there, also waiting for the fight. Between the four of them, they were going to take down an entire Imperial compound. Sergeant Reza Misovic, Gunner Marcos Ko and Private Indo Allura, the only non-human in the team, a Rezilian reptiloid from the swamps of Dagobah. If the war was going to shift back in the Republic's favour, they were going to be the heroes.  
"We're gonna make history today, eh captain?" Reza said through comms as the carrier entered Yavin atmosphere.  
"That's the plan" Replied Miller, "If our intel is right, there's a massive experimental Imperial base down here."  
"Experimental, sir?"  
"Cyborgs. We believe they're trying to create cyborgs on this planet."  
"Wonder where they get the templates?" Asked Ko rhetorically, but Miller answered anyway.  
"They don't have a template, they just have people. We've been tracking disappearances over the past few months and tracked it here."  
"Woah, that's creepy"  
"Keep your head Ko, don't want you freaking out before we even get there."  
The team were suddenly brought back to reality, the craft slowing and turning as it neared the surface.  
"Here we go" Said Miller, "Everyone ready to jump!"  
The cargo door slowly lowered, revealing the planet to the team for the first time. One by one, they all crowded round the opening, jump packs in hand. And then they were gone.

The air was thick, but they walked though it none the less, determined to find their target.  
"It's gotta be here somewhere, right?" Ko asked, as they entered a small passageway carved through the middle of two short mountains.  
"It will be" Miller said, "But this gas is blinding, I can barely see a thing. Allura, get out the sonic reflector device. We're gonna find this thing once and for all."  
Allura nodded, and then reached into his backpack, bringing out a small silver device, shaped like an egg but with two whirring antennae protruding from the top. Being the technician, he had all the equipment on him.  
"We're gonna need to get out of this passageway for the sonic waves to become fully functional" Allura said, holding up the device.  
"Alright" Miller said, "But keep your eyes open. We have no idea what could be hiding in the shadows."

They made it through the passage without any problems, the planet so far looking devoid of any type of life form.  
"OK Indo, let's get a reading" Miller said, impatiently. The sonic device beeped and clicked as it checked for any large structures. Eventually, it stopped.  
"Well?" Said Ko  
"There's a large interference pattern bearing 076 degrees, magnetic, 4 minutes away. Could well be an Imperial base."  
"OK" Said Miller, "Let's move it. Once we ascertain contact with the base perimeter we'll figure out a way to get inside. For now, let's just find the bloody thing."  
"Amen to that" Said Ko, and the group moved off. Now that they had passed through the mountains, they were surrounded by trees. They walked on, following the path dictated to them by the Sonic reflector. They kept going for about 3 minutes, but then suddenly stopped.  
"What the hell was that noise?!" Said Ko, crouching behind a tree.  
"I have no idea" Replied Reza. "I don't like this one bit."  
They stood, surveying the area. The green fog was impairing their judgement massively, creating shadows out of nothingness. They were all getting paranoid…

Miller almost saw it too late.

He dived to the floor just as the first blaster bolts ripped through the trees, dragging Allura down with him into the undergrowth. Ko, already positioned behind a tree was shielded from the hail of bullets. Reza wasn't so lucky. Caught unaware, he was cut down mercilessly by the relentless rate of fire. He didn't stand a chance.  
"What the hell was that?" Miller yelled, still in the undergrowth as the bolts continued to rain down.  
"They're automatic sentry guns Captain!" Ko said, the only person with a good enough vantage point to see. "They're attached to a giant wall. The entrance to the compound."  
"Somehow we've got to get past that sentry gun." Allura said, echoing Miller's thoughts.  
The hail of bullets continued to rain down, until, suddenly they stopped. Out of nowhere, the sentry guns ceased fire.  
"The fuck is going on here?" Ko said.  
"I think I know. I think I know exactly what's going on." Miller said back to Ko.  
"What?"  
"Those Sentries- they're automatic. So how would they know when to fire?"  
"Movement."  
"Exactly. We're not moving, so they're not firing. And this has given me an idea of how we can get past those sentries and into the complex.

Ten minutes had passed. They had to make sure the sentries weren't going to detect what slight movements they were going to make. Eventually, though, everything had been set up.  
"You ready to rock and roll with this?" Miller asked to his remaining two comrades, and they nodded in agreement.  
"On the count of 3. 1….. 2… 3!"  
They all bolted from their positions, leaping up and running straight for the complex ahead of them. The sentries suddenly sprang into life, but the team had planned for that to happen; Allura, the tech man, had a trigger ready in his hand. As soon as he saw the sentries, he hit the trigger. Behind them, back in the undergrowth, several flares shot out of the ground and high into the air. The sentry guns immediately picked up their movement and opened fire. It gave Miller and his men just enough time to sprint up to the wall and out of the sentries sight, before the flares were destroyed, and the protection was gone. Once they were sure the turrets weren't going to pick them up again, they turned a corner into a large passageway. They walked down it, watching every corner for Imperials. Soon, the passageway split off into a T-Junction.  
"STOP!" Miller Hissed, bringing his team to a halt. Just as they stopped, a platoon of 5 Stormtroopers walked straight past them, searching for the intruders that set off the sentries but oblivious to their presence. Miller peered around the corner, but the Stormtroopers were still there. The only thing they could do was fight their way through them.  
"Allura" Miller said, "Grab a stun grenade. We're gonna have to blast our way through them."  
The Rezilian nodded, and pulled one of the cylindrical objects off of his belt. Miller held up his hand, palm facing. The Stormtroopers shifted slightly, edging back towards the junction, and so Miller dropped his hand, and the stun grenade left Allura's grasp, rolling straight into the crowd of Stormtroopers. There was a bang, and a bright flash of white light. Ko immediately dived out into the middle of the junction, automatic blaster rifle in his hands. The Stormtroopers, stunned, didn't have time to react; They were all down before they even had time to see who had shot them.  
"Good Work" Said Miller, "Now let's move on. The main complex has to be around here somewhere."  
The three advanced down the corridor in the direction of the now fallen Stormtroopers, until they reached a door. Slowly, Miller pushed the door open… But nobody had seen, behind them, one of the Stormtroopers was still alive. Using the last of his strength, he reached over to one of the buttons on the side of his suit, and pushed it down hard.

And the entire alarm system screeched into life.

Nobody even had to tell them what to do; As soon as they alarms went off, they were gone. Miller smashed through the door, catching the two Imperial Guards behind it by surprise. One of them took a swing at Miller, but he ducked it and came back with a sharp right hand which hit the guard square in the jaw, breaking it. Allura then grabbed the guard and threw him down. The second guard went for his gun, but Ko, alert, grabbed the gun as it was in his hand and yanked backwards, snapping the guard's arm at his elbow and tearing the gun out of his hand. He could only stand there, a look of extreme agony on his face as Ko put 3 blaster bolts in his chest, finishing the other guard as well.  
"We've got to move. We've got to move NOW!" Yelled Miller, and the team picked up a sprint. They could hear voices behind them as guards started to pick up on the location of the intruders, the indescant alarms still wailing as loudly as possible.  
"There's no way we're going to be able to get out of this" Said Ko, "The entire place is going to be on alert now."  
"I know. We'll just have to take this whole place down with us" Said Miller, and they continued forward. They had no idea where they were, but it looked like a storage warehouse, empty of any activity.  
Miller looked round. Sitting in the corner was a box, filled with planks of wood. "Ko, Allura" He said, "Barricade the door. Use the wooden planks to trap the bars, it'll buy us some time."  
They did exactly that, and, once finished, sat down to discuss their next move.  
"Well," Said Allura, "Aside from the fact we have absolutely no idea where we actually are, I'd say it's going well."  
"Well we didn't even know if there actually was a compound here remember" Miller said. "But I'd say we're in a good position. Whatever this part of the complex is, it seems to be in the main hub, so we must be close to wherever they've got the kidnapped people."  
"I dread to know what they've done with them." Ko said, a shiver going down his spine at the very thought.  
"Whatever they've done, we'll put a stop to it. We're gonna do this for the Republic. We're gonna do this for Reza."  
Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and the whole room shook.  
"They know we're here" Miller said. "Let's move out."  
They headed across the warehouse, the noise from the door getting louder all the time as the Imperials tried to smash their way through. They approached another identical door on the other side, and tentatively opened it. Allura had grabbed one of the pieces of wood to lock this door too, and as soon as they were through he pushed it through the door railings. They then took in their surroundings- this warehouse was almost identical to the first, but this time, up on a gantry above, were two Imperial officers. Fortunately they hadn't seen the team, but they were an obstacle…

"We've got to take out those two officers before we go any further. They're blocking our path and I really don't want us to be stuck here incase they notice us." Miller said to Ko and Allura, hidden in the shadows.  
"I just want the bloody alarm to stop; it's doing my head in" Ko replied.  
"Well" Miller said, "You're the one with the electro-stick, you can be the one to do the honours and take these two out."  
"Roger that Captain, it'll be my pleasure."  
With that, Ko set off, creeping slowly towards the metal staircase that would take him up to the platform the two guards stood on. If he did it right, he'd be able to take them out without making too much noise, and they could continue. He clicked the small switch on the electro-stick, and it quietly hummed into life. Much like a MagnaGuard's staff, and electro-stick was designed to electrocute the enemy on contact- it was just more compact and less powerful. He had now reached the stairs, and started to ascend as slowly as possible. The shadow cast by the set of instruments on the platform shielded him from view, but he had to be careful not to make any noise, or it could be the end of the road for them all. He waited- waited until they were both facing the wrong way. It took a while, but eventually they both turned to face away from him, looking out to the other side in a rather bored alertness.

It was his time to strike.

He leapt out of the shadows faster than either guard could react. Almost with an eerie silence he grabbed hold of the nearest guard and threw him over the platform's railings, his body hitting the floor with an audible crack. The second guard went for his gun, but Ko kicked it straight out of his hand and swung at him with the electro-stick, catching him in the neck and sending thousands of volts of pure electricity straight through his body. Instantly he flew backwards from the shock, landing on top of one of the many instrumentation panels scattered around, the entire console bursting into a blaze of sparks as soon as he made contact with it. It was over as fast as it had started.  
"Well" Said Allura, stepping out of the shadows, "You got your wish. I don't know how you did it, but the alarms have turned off!"  
Ko gave a theatrical bow and jumped off the platform, landing with a dramatic roll to break his fall.  
"OK you two," Said Miller, "That's enough. We've got to press on and find this cyborgs hub."  
"If it exists" Ko reminded him, but Miller seemed convinced enough.  
"Enough of that. Fix the gas dispenser, then we can move on." Allura reached into his backpack and pulled out a hemispherical object, carefully placing it on the ground. He gave it a quick kick and suddenly it started leaking a cloudy white gas at an alarming rate, so the 3 headed away from it and towards the next room.

They walked to the end of the warehouse, through the double doors, armed and ready. But when they burst through, the room they found themselves in was nothing like the ones they'd seen before. It was massive, but it was also completely white and clean, almost like a scientific lab. There were rows upon rows of glass containers lined up- and in each one was a person in cryo-stasis, locked in time, although it was hard to see them as humans; They were more metal than they were skin and bone. Allura calmly closed the doors to stop any gas leaking in, and then they all drew their attention back to the glass boxes  
"So this is it" Miller said silently to himself, walking up to one of the containers and peering into the glass. "Ko. Allura. Fix the charges. We're going to blow this place sky high and stop this Imperial project once and for all."  
"Amen to that Captain" Said Ko, pulling the charges from his belt and handing some to Allura. They went round the room, fixing the explosive devices to the structures that held up the very room they stood in. When it was done, the 3 regrouped, ready to move out. Suddenly, however, there was a loud banging noise and the sound of splintering wood as the Imperial officers and Stormtroopers finally smashed their way into the warehouse, followed instantly by a concerted set of coughing as the gas took its effect.  
"They're beautiful" Miller said, mesmerised as he looked up and down one of the containers. "It's such a shame they're a project of the enemy."  
"You ready to move Captain" Ko asked, having fixed the last charge.  
"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here"  
"This place is going to go up with some bang" Allura said, "Check those gas pipes running through the ceiling. If we're lucky it might flashback to it's source and blow that up too."  
"That'd be a bonus certainly" Said Miller. "Now how the hell so we get out of here?"  
"I think I saw a service door on the side." Allura said. The three of them set off towards the door, but as Miller turned his foot caught on the floor and he fell forward. Attempting to keep his balance he thrust one of his arms out, his hand landing on one of the cyborgs containers.

The room plunged into darkness. A siren screamed into life. The cyborgs started to emerge from their cells…  
"KILL THEM ALL!" Screamed Miller. "KILL THEM ALL NOW!"

They ran, row my row, the bright blue shots of energy from their blaster rifles illuminating the dark room as they mercilessly executed the experimental cyborgs in their startup. Fortunately the process of the cyborgs emerging was a slow one, but nowhere near slow enough for Miller. He knew well enough they wouldn't be able to kill them all.  
"Ko! Allura!" He shouted. "We're not going to be able to finish them off. Let's get out of here and blow the charges."  
"Roger that captain" Ko replied, and the three of them ceased firing and bundled through the service door they has seen beforehand. When they got inside, however, they were in for a shock. The room led straight to a dead end.  
"Bollocks, this was supposed to be our way out" Said Ko, and Miller signalled for them to turn back, but as Allura turned he came face to face with one of the cyborgs. Clumsily the cyborgs swung at him, narrowly missing his head but none the less determined to get at him. He swung again, but this time it was well off target and Allura managed to whip out his gun and shot him dead on the spot.  
"It's not good!" Allura said, looking out. "They're all fully mobile now. We can't get out."  
"Dammit" Said Miller. He walked over and shut the door, then , after signalling Ko, they pulled a large metal container down from the wall and placed it against the door.  
"That should hold them for now" Miller said, stopping to take a breath. Now he could fully see what was in the room. Though only small, it contained miles worth of piping running down the walls and across the ceiling- all gas piping too. One wayward shot and the whole place would go up. There were also several large metal containers, and between the three of them they eventually managed to make a solid barricade out of them.  
"What do we do now?" Asked Ko.  
"We wait. Eventually they'll tear through the barricade, and then we just hope that we can fight our way out."  
"Let's be honest captain, we don't have much of a chance, do we?"  
Miller looked at his two squadmates, then sighed.  
"No, there isn't. I don't know how many of them there are left out there, but I doubt we'll even have enough ammo to get through half of them." Miller then turned back to his colleagues. "I vote we initiate project Lazarus. We don't have to die in vain."  
Ko and Allura both looked at each other, the resignation evident in their facial expressions. They knew it was the only way they were going to be successful here, even if it meant they had to die.  
"It's settled then." Said Miller. "As soon as we're overrun, we'll detonate the charges attached to the wall and take this whole place down with us."

They could hear it. The drilling, sawing and grinding as the cyborgs tried to smash their way through their barricade. Miller was impressed with how well it was standing up to the punishment it was getting- it had been half an hour since they had been locked in the room- but it was also frustrating. Despair was starting to kick in as everyone truly realised what was going to happen. Five more minutes of waiting and he could swear someone was going to go mad and just shoot everyone on the spot.  
"I can't stand this anymore" Ko said, standing up and throwing away his gun.  
"Wait!" Miller said in an instantaneous reply. The pitch of the drilling had increased. They were close to getting through. "They're close. Get back behind the cover."  
As soon as he said that, there was a loud splintering sound as a hand thrust through the door. Miller, Ko and Allura all jumped back in shock, and brought their guns right up to attention, but the hand just stayed there.  
"The hell?"  
Miller, carefully, walked up to it. To him it just looked like an ordinary metal hand. He shrugged and turned back, but as he did a small cylindrical appliance started to emerge from its wrist, small enough that Miller couldn't see it.

But Ko saw it. He screamed for them to get down as the rocket erupted from the cyborg's wrist. In a flash, it shot straight past the three startled Republic soldiers and buried itself into one of the protruding gas pipes so very close to them.

One second they were there. The next they were gone.

Miller was only out for a few seconds, but in that time the whole place had erupted into chaos. He staggered to his feet, vision blurry and his head banging. He could see a swarm of cyborgs, but for some reason they weren't firing at him. No, they were firing at someone else. Miller could see him, standing in the epicentre, fighting off the brainless clones. He looked like a cyborgs too, but not fully. Only half his body was robotic, and the parts looked crude. It took less than five minutes for the cyborgs to be killed off, the few of them that were left. Once he was finished, the half cyborg saw Miller in the corner of the room, looking over the bodies of his two fallen comrades. Miller could sense him approaching.  
"You know" Miller said, though not directed entirely at the half-cyborg, "You never know what you have until it's gone. I came to this planet with a team of four under my command, and now it's just me. I failed them."  
"You didn't fail them" The cyborgs said, the first time Miller had heard him speak. He sounded human enough. "You came here with a mission, same as I did. We all have to make sacrifices. Without sacrifice there is no victory. I mean, just look at me."  
Miller turned around to fully face him. He extended a cold metal hand, and Miller took it.  
"Name's Adam. But you can call me Sidewinder."  
"Sidewinder?"  
"It's a long story. I'll tell you more when we get out of here. No doubt more Imperial guards will be trying to get through that door any second."  
"I hate to break up the party" Miller said, "But my H-Suit is completely ruined. I won't survive long outside this complex."  
"It's a good thing we don't have to leave then." Sidewinder smiled.

Miller may not have known the layout of the base, but even if he did he wouldn't have expected a hangar right next to the cyborg lab. Sitting in the Imperial craft hovering over the complex let Miller see it fully for the first time. It was a lot more expansive than he first thought it was.  
"You ready for this?" Sidewinder asked over the radio. Without even waiting for a reply, he continued. "I've been waiting a long time for this moment." He tilted the craft at a downwards angle, and then unleashed an entire salvo of rockets towards the compound. They stuck the ground beneath them, sending a shockwave searing through the ruins of the cyborgs lab, in turn igniting the charges Miller and the boys had placed there. The whole thing went up in a fireball, but, more than that, the gas pipes that weren't already destroyed flashbacked down the entire pipeline. Miller watched as the gas storage warehouse went up as well. Then the rest of the complex, one building at a time, started to go into meltdown. It was the most satisfying chain reaction Miller had ever seen.

It was for Reza. It was for Allura. It was for Ko. They were heroes, and they had made history.

It was a long journey back to Coruscant, but it was one they were going to enjoy. Sidewinder was piloting the Imperial ship, whilst Miller was on the comms, and had already radioed back to base that they were coming home. Now, they just had to endure the long journey. Miller, through all this time, couldn't help but notice the mechanics of Sidewinder. And Sidewinder couldn't help but notice him noticing.  
"I bet you're wondering what happened to me?" He said, putting the ship into autopilot.  
"I'd be lying if I said I wasn't" Miller replied.  
"I don't blame you. I'm quite a sight. Took me a while to get over it myself, but now I am it's not too bad. Got its benefits."  
"How did you break free? All the others acted like robots but you're thinking for yourself."  
"That's because I was the first. The beginning of the program. It was the battle of Kashyyyk actually. I was a Republic pilot, but we were so heavily outnumbered that it just became ridiculous. The only way, I thought, to have any chance of winning, was to take down the Imperial mothership. So I went aboard with a team and started to wreak havoc. Of course, it didn't work, and I got captured. What I didn't know at the time was that Count Dooku was personally on the ship to oversee the invasion."  
"Bet that took you by surprise."  
"Not half. He's a weird person, but not as weird as half the ideas he had. I was never told why, but for some reason he was intent on creating his own droid army, but from real people so that they weren't mindless droids like the kind General Grievous has. So he decided to start the experiments on me. Unfortunately for him it was his first time of trying and, whilst the attachments were fine, the Mental Aversion Device (MAD) he uses to turn them into his own drones was, to say the least, crap, so I was able to override it and escape. Ever since that moment I'd been hiding out in the compound, looking for a way to escape. That's when you came along with your team. It was perfect. And so now, here we are."  
"Wow, that's almost poetic"  
"Yeah, well I'd be so much happier if I'd remembered to bring my tool kit!"

Count Dooku knew that the Emperor was angry. Only when he was angry would he face to turn him, and now he was staring full face into the darkness of the Empire's heart.  
"My Lord" He began, but The Emperor cut him off straight away.  
"You have failed me Dooku"  
"But my Lord—"  
"Quiet! I trusted you with the cyborg program on Yavin II. You promised me an army and now all we have is in ruins! I may not have foreseen this happening, but that is no excuse for your pitiful excuse of a failure."  
"I understand, my Lord"  
"This is your mess Dooku, so you must make it right. Right now that creation of yours is on it's way to Coruscant, and then it'll be heading to the planet of Kamino. I don't care how you do it, but I cannot have the power of the Empire undermined by your mistakes."  
"It will be done my Lord" Dooku said, and then disappeared. As soon as he was gone, General Grievous appeared from the shadows.  
"General" Said The Emperor, "I have a mission for you."  
"What is your bidding, my master?"  
"It seems we have a traitor within our midst, and she's teamed up with those two favourite pilots of yours to derail our plans. I want you to find her and finish her off."  
"And the pilots?"  
"They are not of concern to me, so you can do what you like with them. All I want is for Juno Eclipse to be dead by this time tomorrow."  
"It is understood my Lord. It will be done."


	2. Forces In The Dark

_**FORCES IN THE DARK**_

" _It's not the dark that's scary. It what lurks in the shadows."_

The empty void of space, stretching out over the horizon of the Mammoth Star Destroyer's brazen window. It was a sight much familiar to Emperor Palpatine, one that gave him hope for the future. Hope that his conquest would not be futile. Count Dooku, on the other hand, did not share the same sentiment. To him, the empty space was merely a reminder of how far they still had to go.  
"I bring news my Lord." Dooku said, sitting down. As usual, Emperor Palpatine had his back to Dooku, but he was used to it by now.  
"You may continue, Lord Dooku. I can sense the elation in the news you have to bring me."  
"I have news from General Grievous my Lord- He has confirmed that Juno Eclipse was shot down over the planet of Gyndine. We have also taken control of the outer rim planets Corrasso and Pakra V."  
There was a pause, one which caused The Emperor to sit to attention.  
"More news, Count Dooku?"  
Dooku hated when the Emperor did that. He really didn't like someone being able to read his mind.  
"Captain Sturn has just given me the authentication codeword to finalise _Project Sentinel._ My Lord, The Death Star is now officially online.  
"This is excellent news. Our plan is proceeding as it should. Now, to test out our new superweapon! Get me Ozzik Sturn on the radio link."  
Dooku walked away, coming back with a radio communicator seconds later.  
"Emperor Palpatine," Came a voice, that of Captain Sturn. "It is an honour. I suppose you have heard that we have completed work on The Death Star."  
"Indeed I have Captain. Now I want you to test it. There is a Republic freight transport currently in deep space on its way to Coruscant. Destroy it. Let us send The Republic a message."  
"Very well my Lord."  
The radio shut itself off, and Palpatine relaxed back into his chair. Dooku turned to leave, but The Emperor raised his hand, halting him.  
"Not so fast, Dooku. You still have a cyborg to take care off. He leaves for Kamino in 2 hours. You cannot fail me this time."

 _The Invincible_ drifted through space, well on its way to deliver a cargo of nuclear and plasma based explosives to the Republic army. Word had been that the Republic had wanted to start an offensive, and this was certainly one way to do it. Despite it's incredible size, The Invincible held just a two man crew, sitting in the bridge. A pilot, Captain Marko Heller, and a comms man, Lieutenant Ossario McKay.  
"Have you got any more of that 'Inta' food McKay?" Heller called across the bridge, hungry. The ship was on autopilot and nobody was having to do much, which generally made Heller hungry.  
"Certainly Captain" McKay called back, walking towards him with a plate of food in his hand. "Seems this is all we ever seem to do these days- eat."  
"Well McKay, that's the job we signed up for."  
"Still, it would be nice to see some action every once in a while."  
Heller just smirked at him, knowing exactly what he meant. At least he was lucky enough to have a girlfriend. With that, McKay went back to his post. Again, nothing was happening, so he started to daydream. He thought about his life. He'd done everything he'd set out to do- he had a beautiful girlfriend, a fantastic house on Alderaan, a 10 month old daughter. Life literally couldn't be better for him right now. And there was just 2 more days until he could get off this ship and go and see them again. He drifted back into reality, content, but soon stopped. Something was wrong. The noise…. There was a noise…. Sirens. He could hear sirens.  
"MCKAY!" Heller shouted down from his Captain's perch. "What the hell is going on down there?!"  
McKay looked through his instrument panel, trying to find what had triggered the alarm. He found it eventually, in the energy sector. He didn't like what he saw.  
"Captain! There's a massive pulse of energy heading our way, on direct collision course."  
"Oh no…" Heller said to himself. He knew just as well as McKay what that could mean. Any energy overload could set off the cargo of explosives. "I'm taking manual control. Where is the energy pulse?"  
"277 degrees magnetic, heading south-central towards the port underside. Power rating is almost off the charts! Speed is Mach…. Mach…."  
"For god's sake, spit it out McKay!"  
"It's going Mach 874030 sir, speed of light."  
"That's impossible, at least at that power."  
"No, it's not impossible. I only ever heard about it once, but….." McKay steadied himself, "It's too late for us."  
He glanced back at his instrument panel. He could see it, a blazing green light reflecting off the shiny surface of his instrument panel, growing in size by the second. It would be the last thing he ever saw.

They never recovered the bodies.

Sitting back on the Mammoth Star Destroyer, Emperor Palpatine let out a wry smile, something that was reserved for special moments. But this was special. The Death Star was ready to go into action.

The Jedi temple stood tall, one of the most majestic buildings throughout Coruscant. Even with the new Senate building that had been created, the Jedi Temple still outshone everything. It was there that both Captain Miller and Sidewinder stood, being examined by the leader of the Jedi order, Mace Windu. After escaping Yavin II, they had headed straight for Coruscant, where Miller had contacted his commanding officer- Space Brigadier Stark- about the mission. After meeting with Stark he directed them to the Senate, where they had a meeting with the current Supreme Chancellor, Supreme Chancellor Casso. He had approved Sidewinder to become a part of the Republic, but that also needed approval from the Jedi Council. And so, there they were. After 2 straight hours of questioning, the Council had retired to make their verdict. Now, as Sidewinder and Miller were stood before them, they were ready to deliver it.  
"Members of the Council" Mace Windu began, "I am delighted to confirm that we have reached a verdict on the acceptance of Adam Isanzo into the Republic."  
Everyone stood up to hear the verdict, although they all knew what it was.  
"By a unanimous verdict, Adam 'Sidewinder' Isanzo has been accepted into the Republic and dissolved of any charges that may be brought against him due to his Imperial past."  
"What does that mean for me now?" Sidewinder asked.  
"It means that you are free." Windu replied. "But, with that said, the Army of the Republic would like to make you an offer. Captain Miller holds your combat skills in high regard, and we would like to make you Commander of the 57th Republic Attrition Squad, if you accept."  
"It would be an honour."  
"Excellent. You shall head to the planet of Kamino immediately to rendezvous with your squad. We'll give you instructions from there."  
"I'll meet you there a bit later" Miller said. He shook hands with Sidewinder, but the cyborg was soon gone to suit up. Miller went to leave too, but Mace Windu stopped him.  
"There's something else, Captain. I know how difficult that mission on Yavin II was. It's probably the most difficult mission undertaken by the Republic in this war, and your success could just be about to change our fortunes. Because of this, the Jedi Council would like to nominate you for the Republic Medal of Honour, the highest achievement we offer."  
"Wow" Miller said in amazement. Getting any medal from the Jedi Council was tough, let alone the Medal of Honour. "Thank you Master, I cannot express my gratitude."  
"There is no need Captain. Now, if that's everything, this Council session is dismissed."

Sidewinder stood there, admiring the fighter he was going to take to Kamino. Although he was only travelling there for a meet up, the fighter was faster than using a transport or landing craft, and more inconspicuous.  
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Came a voice from across the hangar. Sidewinder looked up- it was Space Brigadier Stark.  
"It certainly is." He replied. Taking care, he ran his hand over the fighter's shell. It was nothing like he'd ever seen before. It had a pointed front, with 6 slender wings jutting out of the side and what could be described as a dorsal fin on top. It was slim and streamlined, and had 8 nutonic boosters for propulsion. It's vivid yellow finish just made the fighter look even better than Sidewinder could have even imagined, and even the distinct symbols stood out, even if he had no idea what they meant.  
"It was built by one of the greatest pilots I've ever had the pleasure of working with. His name was Kissel Overiero-MacStreska, but we all just called him K. Him and his best friend, E, made a double team, one of the greatest I've ever seen. E was the fighter out of them and K was the technician if you like, but they both built their own fighters. This was one of K's."  
"What do the symbols mean?"  
"I honestly have no idea. I do know they're tribal markings from their home planet of Dantooine, but whatever they meant, it meant a lot to them."  
"Would I be able to meet them at all?"  
"No, Adam, I'm afraid not. I haven't seen them for about 2 and a half years myself. I don't even know if they're still alive."  
"Bloody hell. What happened?"  
"They were going back to Dantooine for a holiday. Unfortunately none of us knew that the Imperials had launched an invasion at the very same time. I tried to warn them about what was happening, but the next thing I know the radio had cut out. I never heard from either of them again, and considering the Empire was successful in its invasion, god only knows what could have happened to them."  
"That's tough, losing your best men like that."  
"It is, but we had to move on. I still hope to this day that, out of the blue, I'll get a radio message and it'll be one of those two on the other end. They were clever, both of them, and they had some sort of weird connection, almost psychic. They never left each other's sides. If anyone asks me I follow the line that they're MIA presumed dead. Honestly, though, I still think they're alive. I think they're still there somewhere fighting in the shadows."

Sidewinder sat in the cockpit, waiting for takeoff clearance. He had given himself 20 minutes to familiarise himself with the controls, but that, in the end, hadn't made much difference. Whilst the layout was similar to most spacecraft he's seen, the controls were inscribed with not the standard galactic text, but the same tribal Dantooine based markings that were on the outside of the ship. He couldn't understand any of it. He was going to have to wing it.  
"Are you sure there isn't any other craft I can use?" He called out to Stark over the comms, but Stark confirmed a negative.  
"I'm afraid there isn't anything fast enough to get you to Kamino in time. You'll just have to figure your way through the controls."  
"Well then….. I guess I'll be seeing you later Brigadier."  
"Yes. Good luck."

Kamino, fortunately enough, was a fairly easy planet to reach from Coruscant, and Sidewinder would have to make just 2 rendezvous' along the way, above the planets of Kuat and Gyndine, but other than that, it was straight to Kamino to meet up with his new squad. Weirdly, the fighter he was using was the only one Sidewinder had ever seen with a hyperspace function, something that both pleased him and perplexed him- Fighters never usually hit hyperspace. It was something he was happy to take advantage of, however, seeing as it meant it would take less time to reach Kamino. It also meant he didn't take long to reach Kuat, the first checkpoint. With Kuat being a Republic held planet, it was easy enough to relay the message back to Stark and carry on. Gyndine, however, was another story. It was a neutral planet, and one that had gained a reputation for not welcoming any unwanted visitors, having fought off a droid invasion in the first year of the war without Republic assistance. They had no bad feelings towards the Republic, however, so Sidewinder hoped that meant he would get his message away fine.  
"This is Echo-5 calling Gyndine Central Control. Echo-5 to Gyndine Central Control." Sidewinder said over the radio, using his designated codename.  
"Echo-5 from GCC, reading you loud and clear. You are now entering restricted stratospheric space, require access code and reasons for entering."  
Stark had told him about this before. For all the space traffic he could see around the planet, they still were wary of everyone. Probably right in a war.  
"Gyndine Central Control from Echo-5. Request permission to relay radio message back to Coruscant, access code Seven-Five-Eight-Alpha."  
"Access code received. You have permission to relay message Echo-5"  
He flicked radio channels, ready to get back to Stark about his progress, but then something caught his eye. It was his radar. There was something on it.  
"Gyndine Control from Echo-5. Unidentified fighter approaching at 055 degrees magnetic. Confirm if it is one of yours?"  
"Negative Echo-5, fighter is of droid origin and should be considered hostile."  
"Shit" Was all he could say before his radar illuminated again, this time with a warning. The droid had fired rockets. He jammed both joysticks to the right in a spiral lock, and the missiles narrowly missed, colliding into each other. 2 more were fired and once again he had to evade. The only hope now was hit hyperspace. He pulled out the 3 levers, then pushed them down simultaneously. Nothing. He tried again, but this time all he got was a message on his screen:

 **HYPERDRIVE FAILURE IN PORT 6**

"Oh come on, you piece of shit. WORK!" He tried once more, desperate to escape…

And that's when the rockets hit.

Even in the depths of space, they exploded in a bright orange glow, tearing out one of the engines and severing the oxygen supply. He started spiralling downwards towards the planet's surface, battling with everything he had.  
"Gyndine control from Echo-5. I have been hit. Repeat, I have been hit. Oxygen critical, losing alti… losing al…"

Well, he was still alive. As he clambered out of the ruined fighter, Sidewinder took time to look at his surroundings. There were trees, so he was in some kind of wooded area, but there was also snow on the ground. It was pretty cold too. He could see behind him the trail where his fighter had hit the ground. But he could also see a second one. Somebody else had also crashed here. Tentatively, he walked over to the other trail, to the other crash site. It was an Imperial craft.  
"You're probably looking for me, aren't you?" Came a voice from behind him, causing him to jump in shock.  
"Bloody hell, you scared the life out of me." Sidewinder responded. He took a look at who was in front of him. It was a woman, tall and slender, blonde hair reaching past her shoulders. She was dressed in full Imperial kit. To Sidewinder, things made no sense…  
"You can wipe that look off your face" She said, "I'm as much part of the Empire as you are part of the droid army."  
"And you are?"  
"Juno Eclipse" She said, extending a hand. Sidewinder took it.  
"Adam Isanzo. You can call me Sidewinder though."  
"Sidewinder?" Juno enquired, intrigued.  
"Long story."  
"Well, we've got time. I don't think anyone is going to pick us up anytime soon."  
"I did contact Central Control before I crashed." Sidewinder said, a grin creeping onto his face. "They'll have logged my position."  
"Oh I can assure you that you're a long way from where you were shot down. I watched your ship fall from the sky." They'd started walking. Sidewinder had no idea why, but they had started walking.  
"Wait, how long have you been here?"  
"Long enough" Juno replied, keeping her cards close to her chest. "But I've been here long enough to know that we were both probably shot down by the same droid, and that there's a massive energy signature emanating from that cave to the east. An energy signature which is identical in nature to a- wait for it- tractor beam. It's no coincidence we ended up in the same place, or that we're alive. Whoever is operating that thing doesn't want us dead." Almost expectantly she looked back at Sidewinder, admiring his metalwork. "So go on then," She said, "You said it was a long story. I want to hear it."  
He didn't know why, but he told her everything. He told her about Operation Sidewinder, Count Dooku's project to create an army of cyborgs to help the Empire. He told her about how he was the first, the experiment to see if it would work, how it did indeed work but he was able to break free from their hold. He then told her about Captain Miller, about the rescue, why he was here. He told her everything.  
"You say that was Dooku's project?" She asked once he had finished. "Blimey, that's something I would have expected from General Grievous, not him." She looked at him and laughed. "Oh, and I think this makes you more of an Imperial than me!"  
"Go on then," Said Sidewinder, "I want to know your story. If you're not an Imperial, why the outfit. Not going to make you many friends."  
"Oh if only you knew. I'm part of an organisation called HAWK. We, basically, are here to take down the Empire from the inside. We had 3 commanders, of which I was one. We were getting close to taking down the Emperor, but then one of our other commanders, Ozzik Sturn, stabbed us in the back and ratted us out in exchange for his life, the bastard."  
"Ouch, harsh. Although I guess it comes with the territory of doing what you do."  
"Indeed." Juno said, then held up a hand, signalling Sidewinder to stop.  
"Oh, so this is the famous cave with the traction beam." Sidewinder said, looking at the archway infront of him. It was a large opening into darkness, with just a faint glowing illumination from its core. But there _were_ noises coming from it. Mechanical noises. Sidewinder knew he wasn't the only person to pick up on it when Juno drew her gun.  
"You don't have a gun?" She asked, but Sidewinder just held up his robotic hand and laughed. "You know, I should just call you Megatron."  
"Well then, after you" Sidewinder said, and they moved into the cave. They walked, tentatively, forward into the darkness. They could still hear it, a metallic hum emitting from the vague white glow coming from one of the corners.  
"Nice and dark in here" Sidewinder said.  
"Why, you afraid of the dark?"  
"It's not the dark that's scary. It's what lurks in the shadows."  
Juno nodded, and the two slowed up even more as the light grew bigger, just around the corner they were at. Mentally they counted to three together, then turned the corner.

What they saw shocked them both.

It could only be described as the lair of a evil genius. Everywhere were guns, rockets, blueprints and plans. But there were no people there. There were only droids- lots and lots of droids- and in the centre, standing tall, was a droid like nothing either of them had seen before. Sleek, tall and silver, it's solitary eye glowing a deep red. The other, regular, battle droids that worked around him had a brilliant white camo, to blend with the snow.  
"Welcome to my Atlantis" The droid croaked, it's voice raspy, like it had a grate stuck in its throat.

PAK-4 had returned.

"You" Sidewinder said. "You're General Grievous' droid. I'd know that design anywhere."  
" **Was** General Grievous' droid. I left him a long time ago to set up my greatest project yet. That's the problem when you give a droid the ability to think for itself. It knows when to move on."  
"So why here? Why now?" Juno enquired, taking PAK-4 by surprise. "Why the traction beam?"  
"Ah the traction beam!" PAK-4 gleamed in delight. "My greatest achievement! You know, I still hold just as great a hatred of the Republic now as I did when I was with Grievous, so I thought: What better way to knock the Republic off than framing them? You see, in orbit above us right now is _The Republica_ , a nuclear satellite used by the Republic as a relay station. Now, imagine what the powers at be in the Gyndine leadership would think if a republic satellite crashes on their planet, blowing up and killing millions? Then I would make a pact with them, and together we would form an alliance. Then, the galaxy could be ours!"  
"So basically what Grievous was aiming for anyway?" Sidewinder retorted.  
"No. He was motivated by revenge because the Republic rightly refused to help his people when they fucked up their own planet. I'm just here for the power. Cold, hard power."  
"I'm not sure if that makes me feel any better."  
"It doesn't matter" Said PAK-4, "Because you're both going to have to die anyway. I don't like witnesses." As soon as PAK-4 had finished his sentence, every droid in the cave stood to attention, their guns raised high at both Sidewinder and Eclipse.  
"Well this is awkward" Sidewinder said, tensing his mechanical fist.  
"Don't try anything." PAK-4 said.  
"You have no idea" Sidewinder replied, and dropped to the floor, his mechanical fist hitting the ground, creating a shockwave so powerful that it threw every droid in the cave off their feet. PAK-4, incensed, let off a volley of rounds at Sidewinder himself, but he rolled out of the way, and Juno, who was still holding her gun, let off a few rounds, but it didn't affect the Kinemadroid.  
"You can't hurt it like that" Sidewinder said to Eclipse, "It has a forcefield around it. Either we have to destroy that, or we can only get it in a melee battle."  
"You'd be best equipped to take him" Juno said, "I'll finish off the rest of them."  
Sidewinder stood up, looking for PAK-4. He spotted the droid at the edge of the room, trying to get away. PAK, seeing Sidewinder, let off a wrist rocket, which veered heavily off course and flew straight into the cave's centre console, causing it to explode in a brilliant blue colour. Using it as a distraction, Sidewinder ripped a pipe off the wall and charged at PAK-4. As he swung the pipe towards its head, PAK-4 raised an arm and blocked the blow, causing shards of metal to tear off its limb. Undeterred, the droid swung out a leg, catching Sidewinder in the groin and causing him to bend over in pain, before throwing a right hook, landing straight on the human side of his jaw, knocking him to the ground. PAK-4 reached over to pick Sidewinder up, but as he did the cyborg swung again with the pipe, landing it on the side of PAK-4's head and causing him to stumble backwards. Sidewinder then bolted up and rammed the pipe straight through the Kinemadroid's chest, severing the complex wiring to his forcefield.  
"Now we're on even terms" Sidewinder hissed, and threw PAK-4 across the floor, where he landed with an explosion of sparks.

Juno meanwhile was having problems of her own- the droids were starting to get back up. She'd dispatched the 3 nearest he with no problem, but a volley of laser bolts from the other side of the cave had forced her to dive behind one of the command consoles. More shots followed, but the power of the laser bolts hitting the console caused it to short circuit, and burst into flames. Steadily, Juno started picking off the droids one by one, keeping an eye on Sidewinder's fight with PAK-4, but the smoke billowing from the top of the console was making it near impossible for her to get a clear shot. She was going to have to move. She was going to have to move soon.

Sidewinder strode over to PAK-4, a man on a mission. With the droid still recovering from being thrown half way across the cave, Sidewinder took the opportunity to haul it up and smash it into the wall. PAK-4 wasn't going to give up, however, and swiped at Sidewinder, his hand of razors slicing straight through the metal half of his face. There was an almighty screech as he dropped the droid and put a hand to his face. He pulled it away to see it stained black in oil; He was leaking. PAK-4 wasted no time making a follow up assault, grabbing a blaster rifle off the ground and firing three shots in Sidewinder's direction. The first two missed, but the third went straight through the soft flesh of his still human leg, causing him to fall to the ground, too injured to support himself. PAK-4 walked over to him, ready to finish the job, but suddenly a scream echoed through the cave as Juno was cornered by a camo droid. PAK looked over, distracted, so Sidewinder- using his good leg- thrust out, knocking he droid off balance. In one movement he kicked the gun straight out of the droid's hand, but at the same time brought his foot down, crushing it's arm in a vice grip. He grabbed PAK-4's chest plate and pulled him upwards sharply, ripping the arm off entirely, and causing PAK-4 to cry in a hideous grated howl. Every head, including those of the 2 remaining battle droids, turned to the scream, it's waveform painful to those around it. It didn't take long for Juno to finish off the two remaining regular droids.  
"This. Is. Over." Sidewinder hissed at PAK-4, pulling him close.  
"No. This… is not…. Over." The droid replied, struggling to process the words through its heavily damaged body. "You… You have still lost. The tra…. The traction beam is in full flow. Soon… Soon you will be killed along with your pathetic Republic."  
"I wouldn't try going all bravado on me, not now."  
"You… You are naïve. I am not alone. There are forces in the dark far greater than you can comprehend. When… the… the… the time is right, we shall emerge, and claim the galaxy for our own."  
"No. We will defeat the Empire."  
"I cut my allegiance to the Empire a long time ago. No… you do not know who we are." There was a long, uncomfortable pause. "I may have… may have failed in my personal mission, bu… but we shall succeed. You will become just another statistic. The Jedi order….. Count Dooku, General Grievous, The Emperor… Everyone. Everyone will die."  
He could feel it building up inside of him as he listened to PAK-4 speak, but the last comment sent Sidewinder over the edge in rage. He threw the droid backwards over the floor, then brought his mechanical arm outwards, a small cannon protruding out of it. Instantaneously he let off three rockets, all running parallel until at the last moment they converged right in the centre of PAK-4's eye, blowing half of its face off. For a few seconds it just stood there, lifeless, and then collapsed to the floor, pouring thick oil and metallic residue from it's now almost certainly fatal wounds.

He had defeated him. But the tractor beam was still active. He hadn't won yet.

Quickly he called Juno over, who had watched the entire last stand in awe.  
"Blimey" She said, joining Sidewinder by the centre console. "That was… Powerful."  
"Needed to be. We can't let them win."  
"You really hate droids, don't you?"  
"Can you blame me? After what I've been through, I don't want to see another droid walk in this galaxy ever again."  
"How's your leg?" Juno asked, pointing to the leg PAK-4 had shot him through.  
"Painful, but I'll live. We need to disable this bloody tractor beam before I can think of sorting out my injuries."  
They both checked out the centre console; Despite being blown up, it was still functioning perfectly fine. The tractor beam launch up was at 80%.  
"What do we do?" Juno asked.  
"We blast it." Sidewinder replied, and walked over to one of the cave's walls. Lined on the wall was a variety of high end weaponry, so naturally Sidewinder chose the rocket launcher.  
"Stand back" He said to Juno, who positioned herself at the far end of the cave. Carefully he took aim, right at the intact guidance panel in the centre of the console, and let fly. The rocket hit the console with inch perfect aim, causing it to explode yet again in its brilliant blue inferno.

The good news: The tractor beam had been destroyed. The bad news: The cave was now collapsing. Fast.

"RUN" Sidewinder yelled, and they both made a run dash for the exit of the cave. Rocks were falling and the ceiling collapsing, but the end wasn't far.  
"Watch out!" Juno shouted, as the entire front of the cave collapsed, almost crushing Sidewinder.  
"We're going to have to climb over the slide"  
"You first" Juno said, so Sidewinder hauled himself up on top of the rocks that had fallen down. Balancing himself, he offered a hand to Juno, who took it without hesitation. They jumped through the gap ahead of them, falling out of the cave just as the rest of the droid lair caved in. They were safe.  
"What's that noise?" Juno asked, a weird humming sound filling the air. They both looked round, but found nothing, just trees and snow as had been there beforehand. Then they both looked up.

Sat above them, powering it's way past Gyndine's pull of gravity, was the biggest Imperial Star Destroyer either of them had ever seen, and it was being flanked by two Republic cruisers.  
"Well" Said Juno, staring in awe, "At least they're not firing at each other."  
"You know what" Sidewinder replied, also staring at the sky, "That might just be what worries me the most. Something is happening, and whatever it is, it's going to be big…"

 **TO BE CONTINUED**


	3. Peace Treaty

_**PEACE TREATY**_

" _There is no peace any more. Not in this galaxy."_

Gyndine planetary surface, 12 hours after the events of 'Forces In The Dark'

"I'm not going."  
"What?"  
"I'm not going with you" Juno said, as she sat atop the white, snowy hill, overlooking the ruined cave below. Both herself and Sidewinder were sat there waiting, with the Imperial Destroyer having not moved since it had entered Gyndine's atmospheric space.  
"Why the hell not?" Sidewinder inquired.  
"They are looking for me. The Empire is looking for me, and I can't go up there. Whatever is happening, they'll kill me if they find me."  
"I guess it's just going to be me then."  
"I'm sorry, I just can't risk it."  
"Don't be sorry Juno, I know very well what it's like to be hunted down by the Empire. Where will you go?"  
"I'm staying here, on Gyndine. I can't leave in case I'm detected."  
Sidewinder nodded in acknowledgement, then moved towards her. As he reached her, however, his leg started to give way. With a cry of pain he fell down like a fallen tree onto the snow below. Juno helped him sit up, but it didn't look good.  
"You really need to get those wounds looked at." She said, but Sidewinder shrugged her off.  
"I'll be fine." He said dismissively.  
"Adam for fuck sake, look at yourself. If you go onto that Star Destroyer and collapse, you'll be a sitting target."  
Sidewinder smiled; "Since when did you care about me so much? This wouldn't have anything to do with last night would it? I don't suppose you've grown attached to me?"  
"Adam" Juno said, sternly but playfully. "You know how much I enjoyed last night. Last night was fantastic; **You** were fantastic. I don't want to see you killed, not after we've only just gotten to know each other."  
"I'll be fine, honestly. Give me a drill and I'll make a metal support for it from what's left of PAK-4. But I have to find out what's going on in that Destroyer. It hasn't moved for 12 hours. Something isn't right."

With the leg brace constructed, Sidewinder headed out over the hill. He intended to get aboard the Star Destroyer, but to do that he needed a craft- fortunately, there was one just over the hill they had been standing on, about 10 minutes away. Juno had stayed behind at the cave; It was inevitable with the noise they had produced that someone would check it out, so that's where she would be. She hoped the Gyndine population would shield her from The Empire. That wasn't a problem for Sidewinder- he was walking right into the nerve centre of the enemy.

The Kraskora MASP (Military Airfield SpacePort) was a small complex, one that dealt with intra-planetary affairs and small armed conflicts. To the normal person, it wasn't anything special, but to Sidewinder it had just what he needed- a Dakara 575 Cargo Transporter, a spacecraft that he was going to have to steal to get aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer. With Juno left behind, he was on his own for this one. There were just 2 hangars in operation, with the easterly one holding the Dakara. The staffing was minimal to say the least, but that didn't mean Sidewinder wouldn't have to be careful. Using as much caution as he dared, he vaulted the guard fence and sprinted to the hangar holding the craft. He scaled the wall, looking for an entry point. Soon enough, he found a door. It was unlocked. Slowly he opened it, and walked inside; He was in a narrow corridor, a restricted space that had just the one exit. He walked, and walked, but just as he was nearing the end, a guard suddenly appeared around the corner and walked straight down the corridor. Sidewinder could do nothing, he was trapped.  
"Oh come on!" He grunted under his breath.  
" _Hak to isilina hyrte andegarda?"_ The guard yelled, not that Sidewinder understood anything she was saying. " _Hak to? Hak to?"_ Suddenly, the guard drew her gun. Sidewinder, quick to react, swung his arm out and fired straight at the guard, the stun dart hitting her right in the side, causing her to bend over in agony. Sensing an opportunity, Sidewinder ran up the wall, jumping over her head and landing behind her. Although she tried to turn around, Sidewinder yanked the gun out of her hands, swivelled it on his index finger and then cracked the butt of it over her head. She landed with a dull thump.  
"Sorry, had to be done my friend" Sidewinder said, then walked past her unconscious body and into the main hangar itself. Infront of him stood the biggest Dakara spacecraft he had ever seen. It was beautiful. Better yet, there was nobody else guarding it; It was all his to take.  
'Maybe now' He thought, 'I can finally figure out what the hell is going on.'

It was a work of beauty, the Dakara 575, especially drifting in the vast reaches of space. It's sleek, yet extensive design patterns glinting in the light of Gyndine's far reaching star cluster. It's a shame he would only be on board for such a short period of time. There was one thing he had to do first, as well- he had to get in contact with Brigadier Stark. If anybody did, it would be him who knew what the hell was going on.  
"This is Dakara Carrier 575-022Alpha calling Space Brigadier Stark. Brigadier, it's Sidewinder. I'm afraid things haven't gone to plan, and I'm currently staring at a rather strange convoy of Imperial and Republic cruisers. I don't actually know why. Copy."  
There was a pause, a long, drawn out pause. Sidewinder almost thought he'd found the wrong wavelength for the Republic comms, but then there was a sudden, sharp beep as the Dakara's radio system re-calibrated. And then came the voice:  
"I'm afraid Stark isn't here at the moment." Sidewinder knew that voice anywhere.  
"Miller!"  
"Damn, is it good to hear your voice. We had no idea what happened to you when we lost contact over Gyndine. We were about to send a search and rescue team."  
"You didn't miss much, just a few droids with independent thought that wanted to take over the galaxy."  
"Well you missed plenty here whilst you were gone."  
"Would that, by any chance, have anything to do with the convoy I'm currently staring at?"  
"Yes. We have a lot to talk about, but we need to switch radio channels so nobody can listen in. Switch to channel 1-4."  
"If someone was listening, wouldn't they just hear than and tune in themselves?"  
"Yes" Miller said sternly. Sidewinder cut off the link, then switched it, not to 1-4, but to 4-1.  
"Well I'm in." Sidewinder said.  
"Good. Nice to see you caught on" Miller replied. "Now we can get down to business."  
"Yeah, such as why Republic and Imperial craft are mingling."  
"That's entirely the point. Apparently, The Empire and The Republic have agreed to negotiate a peace treaty, on the planet of Kamino. Like, an actual peace treaty, to end the war and everything."  
"You don't seriously believe that, do you?" Sidewinder asked, himself astonished at the possibility.  
"No I don't, but anyone who's anyone is onboard these ships, and if something goes wrong pretty much every important person in the galaxy is going to be killed."  
"Who have the Imperials sent to negotiate?"  
"Count Dooku."  
"Not The Emperor then?"  
"No, which is what initially gave me a bad feeling about it. Especially given General Grievous is waiting in the wings to take over as number two in the Empire's ranks. So I got busy. I sent out a probe to attach onto the Imperial craft in the centre of our convoy, and found some interesting things."  
"And here I was thinking you were just a foot soldier."  
"Oh I am, but I've picked up a thing or two in my time."  
"What did you find?"  
"An energy signature. A really, really big energy signature. Off the charts. Now I know that's a big cruiser, but it should not be emitting that much energy. More than that, I've seen that energy signature before. I know what's making it."  
"What? What is it?" Sidewinder asked, impatiently.  
"Oh you'll know when you find it, believe me."

Count Dooku walked into the Star Destroyer's control room, as he had done so many times before. This time, however, was different. This time he was walking in knowing he was going to be the one in charge of the situation, and not an Emperor in sight. Waiting for him at the back of the room, staring out of the window into space, was none other than Captain Volkov, the Empire's top saboteur and commanding officer. He was going to be the one that ensured the plan went exactly how it should. He was going to become an Imperial hero.  
"Lord Dooku" He said, walking away from the window. "How may I be of service?"  
"Captain Volkov" Dooku acknowledged. "Things are starting to progress nicely. We shall be moving off in a couple of hours time towards Kamino, which means _Project Serpent_ can move into countdown phase."  
"Indeed Lord Dooku. You want me to arm the neutron bomb?"  
"Only once we set off Captain. This is a very delicate operation, one slip up and the bomb could go off ahead of schedule, and then we'll both share the same fate as the Republic. We wouldn't want that, would we?"  
"Not at all, my lord. You know I want to see the Republic burn as much as you do." Volkov moved back to the window and started to stare again. "It's beautiful you know, this. Just staring out into space, the stars and planets mapped out infront of your eyes. The surface of Gyndine below. It's a shame war ever had to come and disturb it."  
"You're going soft Volkov" Dooku said, then went to join him.  
"I'm being serious. For too long has the galaxy been stunted by a dictatorial Republic. We have a real chance to let it flourish and thrive under the Empire."  
"Well I hope you don't like Kamino too much, seeing as it's going to be destroyed, all going to plan."  
"Don't worry Lord Dooku, everything will go to plan."  
"I'm going to give you a squad of Stormtroopers to help out with the protection" Dooku said, but Volkov stopped him.  
"It's OK my lord, I've already assembled a team of my own militia for security. They're highly skilled and intensely trained in agile hand to hand combat. If anyone challenges them, they'll be ready."  
"I hope so Volkov, I expect there to be trouble at some point"  
"Stop worrying, they'll protect the neutron bomb." Volkov said, a smile growing on his face. "They're undefeatable."

The Star Destroyer loomed large as Sidewinder approached it, filling up the entire horizon, it's presence intimidating to anything that dared surround it.  
"Well, I'm here Miller..." Sidewinder said, his voice chillingly detached from his body, which was too busy staring in awe. "It's massive."  
"It's certainly impressive, I'll give it that. Must have taken the Empire a great deal of time and energy to build it, and yet we had no idea. Makes you wonder what was really going on before this war began, how many people had already aligned with the Empire under our very noses, swearing allegiance to a system they were plotting to destroy."  
"I want to know The Emperor's history." Sidewinder replied. "Loyalists to the Empire seem to know everything about him, how he works, but I'd never heard of him until this war began."  
"Nobody in The Republic had."  
"Which makes you wonder just how long this had been planned for. The Empire must have been created long before the war began..."  
A sudden beep brought Sidewinder out of his Imperial induced trance, alerting him that he was getting too close to the Star Destroyer's underbelly.  
"OK Miller, I'm directly under the ship. Now what?"  
"What are your bearings?"  
Sidewinder looked closely at his screen- he couldn't read most of it, being in the native language of the Gyndine population, but he could still pick out the numbers he knew as bearings. At least, he thought he could.  
"I read: 323.04 latitude, 50.81 longitude, height 88.44. At least, I think it's in that order."  
"Seems about right." Miller replied cautiously. "So... if you turn 103 degrees polar you should see a large opening in the ship's fuselage. I'm hoping that's a service port. If it is, then it's our way in."  
Sidewinder turned the craft. Sure enough, there was a large rectangular opening in the underside of the craft. "Let's hope you're right Miller" Sidewinder muttered under his breath, silently rolling his non-metallic eye, then headed straight for the port.

If there were two things Sidewinder had learned during his short time under Miller, it was that he was rarely wrong about anything, and that he usually had a way of attracting trouble. Unfortunately, both of those statements looked like they were going to ring true as he approached the service hatch. The first things Sidewinder noticed were the high strength arc lights emanating from the service hatch- that meant that it was operational, and that wasn't good. As he moved underneath the large opening, he was virtually blinded as the lights cast their luminescent glow into the dark reaches of space. Grimacing, Sidewinder forced the ship into vertical climb, ascending into the blinding unknown, his hand across his face to block out most of the light. Eventually, once he was satisfied he was inside the Star Destroyer, he withdrew his had from his face and looked out to the view below.

After taking one look, he rather wished he hadn't.

When Miller had said it was a service port, Sidewinder hadn't quite realised that the service port would be crawling with droids- thousands of them- working relentlessly on all manner of crafts and fighters that would not look out of place in an insect hive. There was a cold efficiency in the way they moved that unnerved Sidewinder, like they were preparing for something big. Like they were preparing for battle. His mind shifting into overdrive, Sidewinder started to think of his next move. But then he realised something. They had all stopped moving. Every single one of them had stopped what they were doing, and were now staring intently into the sky. They were staring at him. Sidewinder gulped nervously, aware of the thousands of electronic eyes that were following his every move. And then one of them raised their gun. And then they all raised their guns.  
"Ah fuck..." Sidewinder managed to get out just as a plethora of blue laser bolts smashed straight through the Dakara, tearing it into individual atoms in a blinding explosion. With just a split second to think about it, Sidewinder dived through the ship's side window, the force of the explosion throwing him against the wall of the hangar, crushing his mechanical arm in a shower of sparks. He dropped to the floor, shaken, just as the fine pieces of debris started to fall. He stood up and surveyed the area, watching the droids that were emotionlessly staring straight back at him, the air dark, yet bright with burning ashes. Had he been watching this from afar, Sidewinder was sure he would have found it almost poetic- as it was, he was too busy groaning in pain to care about aesthetics. He looked down at his arm, but it wasn't a pretty sight, a mangled mess of mechanics and machinery that didn't look like it would be any use in battle, but at least his hand still worked, and his leg brace wasn't broken either. That would come in useful- at least it would, should he get out of there alive. That was something he still had to figure out how he was going to do.

Captain Volkov was stood in the centre of his control room, his head bowed as he listened intently. A circle of armed guards stood around him, forming a protective barrier as if he were under siege. But unlike every other Imperial officer that would have been assigned protection, Volkov's guards were not Stormtroopers; he'd brought in his own cavalry. Being in the field of espionage, he knew just how important it was to have specialists in high priority situations, not brainless droids or yes-men that couldn't adapt to a situation unless you told them what to do. So he had gone out, sent a coded message across the galaxy and found exactly what he was looking for- 12 highly trained fighters, as effective with a gun as with their hands, and expert free runners over any terrain. They would do the job just fine. Volkov looked up, his head no longer bowed, and thrust a hand into the air, his signal for the guards to disperse. As they did just that, he moved to the front of them, walking calmly towards the anti-gravity elevator and signalling for them to follow. He allowed a grin to spread across his face as the elevator arrived- The order had been given. The bomb was to be set. It was finally going to happen.

The dark room was a large space, a plain floor created out of blue quartz that, coupled with the dim lighting, gave off an inexplicably eerie effect to anybody that visited it. Volkov had been down there just once before, and had decided afterwards that he never wanted to visit it again. And yet, as the elevator stopped and he walked out onto the crystalline floor, all of his previous fears vanished. Now that he had a mission to do, none of it seemed anywhere near as bad as he remembered it. He could tell by the way his guards moved, so calm and elegant, that they weren't bothered about it either. They all walked slowly, the electric feeling in the air building as they reached the one object that stood in the room; A small silver cylinder, levitating four foot above the ground. Whilst one side of it was completely bare, the other had a glass screen embedded within it, flanked by two buttons- one red, one green. One to stop the timer, and one to start the countdown to Kamino's destruction. As he approached it, Volkov had to stop himself from getting too carried away. Slowly his finger descended, before it came into contact with the hard surface of the button.

It was set. It was ready.

Calmly, as if nothing happened, he swivelled on his feet and walked back towards the elevator, but one of his guards stopped him before he could get there.  
"Sir" The guard said, quickly and efficiently. "There has been a breach inside the port loading dock. The droids are in position to terminate- shall I give the order?"  
Volkov almost said yes through instinct, but then he thought about it; Why just let The Republic burn? Why not humiliate them, torture them as they turn into ashes. It would be the ultimate victory.  
"No. Bring the intruder up here, I have a special plan for whoever it may be."

The droids advanced slowly, methodically; They formed a semi-circle around Sidewinder, pinning him against the far wall. With his weapons non-functioning, and the sheer number of droid units, his hopes of survival were virtually zero. And yet, he was still alive- the droids had no trouble firing upon the Dakara, but not on him, and he had no idea why. That almost scared him as much as knowing he could be killed any second, the fact that it meant something was happening, something that could not be good. Then, suddenly, the droids all stopped their advance at once, halting into a single frame. One of them, a commander laced in blue decals, stood forward:  
"You will come with us." It stated blankly.  
"Why?" Sidewinder asked, but the droid did not respond. It merely waited, before repeating  
"You will come with us."  
"I demand to know why!"  
"If you do not comply, you will be killed."  
Sidewinder barely blinked at the droid's threat. It was no less than he expected, especially as he considered himself to be running on borrowed time regardless. The fact that he was being ordered to follow a droid meant that there was someone high up involved that he may just be about to meet. The Emperor maybe, or Count Dooku, General Grievous. Could be all three- at least then he could tell them they're all bastards to their faces before they killed him. It would so be worth it.

Four droids were chosen to escort him, forming a box that encased him as they walked down the corridor, and into the anti-grav elevator. They went up for a long time, reaching what Sidewinder assumed was the top level of the Star Destroyer, but once they came to a stop, it seemed anything like what Sidewinder had imagined. The entire room was dark, an eerie dark blow glow emanating from the floor beneath him. There was just one light on, a light that encased a person, who was staring directly at him.  
"Welcome" He said, almost happily, extending a hand which Sidewinder took reluctantly. "My name is Captain Volkov. Welcome to my lair."  
Sidewinder looked around, completely lost for words. Volkov suddenly snapped, catching Sidewinder by surprise, asking for an increased lighting level. Once the lights had intensified, he could truly see the grand scale of the room- it was a vast expanse of seemingly nothing, but alluring at the same time, drawing him in. It was at this point that he also realised the guards, 12 of them spread in a circle, compact SMG blaster rifles in their hands.  
"It's impressive, isn't it." Volkov said, walking round to be at Sidewinder's side. "This room used to contain some of my worst nightmares, but now I've embraced it, and it is truly beautiful. It has a sentient presence about it."  
Sidewinder studied Volkov carefully. He felt like he knew him, but he couldn't be certain.  
"Do I know you?"  
"You might do" Volkov replied. "I certainly know you, recognised you the moment you emerged from the anti-grav, even if you look a complete mess at the moment. I visited the compound on Yavin II you were kept at a few times, business reasons of course."  
Sidewinder narrowed his eyes at the sound of Yavin II. The less he was reminded of it, the better- and, no matter how nice he seemed, if Volkov had been visiting him in that compound, then he was just as narcissistic as the rest of them.  
"I was hoping to meet someone a little higher up the command chain, if I'm honest." Sidewinder finally said, the bitterness evident in his voice.  
"Were you now?" Volkov enquired. "Count Dooku is on this Destroyer, somewhere, but I'd really not inconvenience him. Anyway, I don't need him here, because I'm about to show you my crowning achievement. I do hope you'll be impressed by it."  
"Like fuck will I be impressed by The Empire, no matter how you dress it up."  
Volkov shrugged; "No matter, I'm still going to show you anyway. Might help put things into perspective for you, considering what I'm about to ask you to do next."  
With that, Volkov spun away, and walked into the centre of the room. He raised his hands, eloquently, and clicked his fingers. There, right in front of him, the room began to dissolve away, and the shroud of darkness was lifted. Sidewinder could only watch as the neutron bomb revealed itself to him infront of his very own eyes...

"No." He said, stunned. "That can't be possible. That just can't be possible."  
"Oh it's possible," Volkov countered, walking back round the bomb so that he could face Sidewinder. "I oversaw its development. This was, after all, my plan."  
"How did you get a neutron bomb?"  
"I'm a saboteur, it's my job!" Volkov exclaimed, mocking offence. "I already have plenty of contacts, it wasn't hard to get the parts- each one from a different supplier, so that nobody would know what the finished product would be."  
A sudden thought hit Sidewinder as Volkov spoke- "This ship is heading towards Kamino..."  
"Yes!" Volkov celebrated, "Now you're on the same page as I am. I'm guessing that you can guess what is going to happen when this Star Destroyer reaches Kamino."  
"You won't get away with this" Sidewinder said, "There's no way you'd be able to pull it off without merciless retaliation."  
"I disagree. Kamino is such a vital planet, that its destruction would cripple The Republic. From then it will be easy to take control."  
"You're nothing but an egotistical maniac" Sidewinder countered in defeat, trying to think of some way the situation could be rescued. He was running out of options fast.  
"Oh I am, but what does it matter when it makes me victorious? In about 30 minutes time, I'm going to be leaving in an escape pod, clear from everything, whilst you will be left here, forced too count down the seconds until The Republic is finished. And what's better, is you're going to do something for me, to humiliate The Republic first."  
"What?"  
Volkov snapped his fingers, and one of the guards stepped forward, holding a holographic recording device.  
"You, my friend, are going to record a message for me, one in which you announce your allegiance to The Empire. And if you thought that would be dramatic, I have something else to show you." Volkov then took Sidewinder, and forced him to look out of the window. "You see that asteroid?" He asked, "The Republic think it's harmless, but believe me, it's very deadly- considering it's under my control. Once you shock the galaxy, I'm going to bring down the asteroid onto the Republic ship, killing everyone onboard and pretending it was you!"  
"You're sick, sick and twisted. You're not going to get away with this" Sidewinder retaliated in disgust.  
"Oh you've said that already, I don't think you quite understand that there's nothing you can do."  
"What if I refuse?"  
"Then I leave you here to be blown up along with Kamino, it's really not much of a big deal. Now if you excuse me... I have an escape pod to catch."

The time passed slowly for Sidewinder. 20 minutes it had been since Volkov had left, and nothing had happened since- no rescue attempt, no visitors. He had literally been left there, handcuffed, to die. But that was no matter to Sidewinder, because he finally had a plan...

There were just 2 guards there, watching over him. He had no idea where the other 10 had gone, but he suspected that they had all hit the escapee pods, just like Volkov. He worked in silence, hoping that neither of the guards would figure out what he was doing. Slowly, but surely, he had been pulling one of the struts off of his leg brace, to use as a weapon. Now that he had finally pulled it off, he had to work quickly to break his handcuffs- neither of the guards were looking at him, both facing away. Without warning, Sidewinder screamed loudly, and threw himself to the floor, faking convulsions. One of the guards, on alert, instantly ran over to him, but as soon as he got there Sidewinder rammed the strut straight through the inside of his leg, causing him to collapse in agony- as he did, Sidewinder ripped the gun from his hands and let of a volley of blaster bolts, cutting down the second guard where he stood. Sidewinder was almost about to congratulate himself when the first guard grabbed him, lifting him up in a fit of rage. Sidewinder struggled, but it was no use, and the guard threw him through the air, sending him crashing into the Neutron bomb, knocking it out of its place. The guard, heavily limping, started towards Sidewinder again, but Sidewinder grabbed the Neutron bomb and threw it in the guard's direction. It hit him, square in the face, sending him sprawling across the floor. He didn't get up again.

Sidewinder didn't know how high up he was, but he knew the escape pod dock was located on the 2nd floor of the Star Destroyer, and that meant using the anti-grav elevator. That meant the distinct possibility of being sighted, and he wasn't looking forward to it if it did happen; His leg was now starting to give way, with his support no longer fully operational. He was in no fit state to get into another fight, although he did now have one of the SMG blaster rifles from the guard inside the dark room. He stepped onto the platform, looking back at what he hoped would be the last of the dark room. It was a shame, he thought, that he couldn't destroy the Star Destroyer- that was far too much effort for just one person- but at least took comfort from the fact that, hopefully, it would no longer contain the Neutron bomb once he'd finished with it. It wouldn't even be a victory, just an avoidance of defeat, but the victory would come soon. Sidewinder swore, wherever he had gone, he would find Captain Volkov and bring him to justice, no matter what the cost. He would do it not for himself, but he would do for The Republic. He owed them that much.

The journey down to the escape pod dock was uneventful, though Sidewinder spent the entire journey tensed, ready for action. His leg was starting to give him pain too, no longer properly supported by his makeshift brace, though he ignored it, more focused on the task in hand.  
He stepped out of the elevator, scouting every corner, looking for danger, but nothing showed itself- the corridor was empty...

At least that's what he thought.

A sudden noise caused him to spin around, but he was too late- the blow hit him square in the face, knocking him to the groud. He went for his gun, but a boot kicked it out of his hand, sending it spinning across the floor. Trying to take the upper hand, Sidewinder grabbed the foot and pulled, hard, sending the assailant to the floor too. Quickly and agilely, the guard sprung onto his feet, and Sidewinder followed, but as soon as he did another guard appeared from the other side of the corridor, and let off a burst of gunfire, just fizzing past Sidewinder. Sidewinder looked at him- like the first guard, he had a blade as well as a gun. Occupied by the new guard, he didn't realise the first guard was now right behind him. Using all his stealth, the guard ran straight up the wall, landing infront of Sidewinder, quickly letting off blows to all parts of his critical systems, rendering him momentarily immobile. The guard then came back at him, aiming right for his heart, but this time he was ready, and just before the crucial moment, he reached out and grabbed the guard's arm, then pulled down hard, sending the guard spiralling through the air behind him, landing with an audible crack as his spine split into two halves, ammo and grenades rolling out of his utility belt. The other guard then squared up to Sidewinder, and ran in the exact same motion towards him. Sidewinder, foolishly, attempted the same manoeuvre, but the guard had expected exactly that, and feinted his joust, instead sliding behind Sidewinder. Sidewinder tried to turn, but suddenly a sharp pain coursed right through his systems as the guard drove his blade into Sidewinder's back. The guard then jumped back infront of Adam, and spun his foot straight towards his head, but, summoning all his strength, Sidewinder dropped to the floor. The guard's foot, however, continued, but instead of Sidewinder's head in its path, it was the guard's blade, still sticking out of Sidewinder's back, and it connected perfectly, slicing his foot clean off. The guard screamed in agony, but Sidewinder punched as hard as he possibly could, and the guard fell to the floor, silent.

His body was still in incredible pain, but Sidewinder still managed to drag himself towards an empty escape pod. Despite the fight, neither of the guards had realised that, hidden inside Sidewinder's jacket pocket, was the very neutron bomb they were supposed to protect. Now, carefully, he placed that very bomb inside the capsule, setting the co-ordinates for the pod to the polar opposite to the positioning of Kamino, into the very blackness of space. He then dragged himself to the next escape pod, the only one remaining, and pulled himself in. He set course for Kamino, and fired, shooting himself out from the Star Destroyer than had held him captive. He didn't give any consideration to whether anybody would find him, all he cared about was that it was finished. They had won.

Captain Volkov's escape pod was silent. He had stopped it, in the middle of the void, so that he could watch Kamino burn. It was a perfect spot to watch, and the Star Destrroyer would be reaching its destination in just one minute. It was hard for Volkov to contain his excitement, knowing that his greatest scheme was about to come off. He was just about to check his watch when he saw another escape pod in the distance heading towards him. 'Ha' he thought, 'must be one of the guards'. But then he looked closer- the pod was empty. There was nobody in it at all. 'Odd' he thought, 'who in their right mind would waste an escape pod?'. Then, as the pod passed him, a glinting reflection caught his eye, sparkling in the artificial light of the escape pod. It was small, silver, cylindrical...  
"No." He whispered. "No that's not possible. That's not possible!"  
He checked his watch again- the countdown was nearing an end.  
5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

There was an incredible flash, an orange light that shot out across space, engulfing everything in its path.

And then it was black.

And then it was over.


End file.
